The fourth season ofStranger Thingshas been a welcomed return by fans of the hit series. The season’s first volume, consisting of seven episodes, was released on July 26, 2025. The final two episodes comprising the season’s second volume dropped on July 26, 2025, featuring the show at its most climactic point yet.
RELATED:Stranger Things: Best Moments From Season 4 Vol 2
Along with these feature-length episodes come plenty of new iconic moments featuring everyone’s favorite cast of characters. Whether it’s a quip by a character in the heat of action, or an emotional monologue concluding a season’s character arc, these quotes are the most memorable from the final two episodes of Season 4.
10Will Inspires Mike
Season 4 has found Will struggling with opening up to Mike about how he truly feels about him. Episode 8, titled “Papa,” finds him at his most vulnerable with his former best friend, although still not fully truthful. After Mike expresses his doubts about Eleven needing him, Will shows Mike a painting he made of their D&D party.
After pointing out that Mike’s shield in the painting has a heart on it, Will confides:
That’s what holds this party together. Heart.
Mike seems encouraged enough by Will’s advice to regain his confidence in rescuing Eleven. However,many fans remain frustrated with Mike remaining obliviousto the real meaning of Will’s speech.
9Eleven’s Final Words To Brenner
Season 4, Episode 8 features a climactic end for one of the series' biggest antagonists since Season 1. As the U.S. military invades an underground superlab, Dr. Martin Brenner helps Eleven escape. However, the scientist who experimented on children is subsequently gunned down by a helicopter gunman.
RELATED:Stranger Things: Best Eleven Quotes
After Eleven takes care of the helicopter, sending it crashing to the ground, she reunites with Mike, Will, Jonathan, and Argyle. Still, she doesn’t leave without one last interaction with Brenner, who tries to tell Eleven he’s proud of her and wants her to understand why he did what he did. Eleven coldly replies,
Goodbye, Papa.
8Steve’s Advice To Dustin And Eddie
The cold open of Episode 9 finds the core group in Hawkins setting off with their plan to ambush Vecna. Entering the Upside-Down, Steve, Nancy, and Robin head to the Creel House to face the monster head-on. Meanwhile, Dustin and Eddie will serve as a distraction to the Demobats, but not without a clear warning from Steve.
Before the two parties split up,Steve turns to Dustin and Eddie with his advice:
Don’t try to be cute or be a hero or something.
Eddie and Dustin reassure Steve of their adversity in being heroes. As audiences see later in the episode, Eddie doesn’t exactly end up following Steve’s advice after all.
7Joyce And Hopper Flirt
While waiting for Yuri to fix his helicopter and get Joyce, Hopper, Murray, and Dmitri out of Russia, Joyce and Hopper get a moment to themselves. As they change into new clothes, the two discuss the date they had planned at Enzo’s at the end of Season 3. However, Joyce is a little disappointed by Hopper’s plans for the date.
RELATED:Stranger Things: Best Joyce Byers Quotes
Hopper describes to Joyce the meal he’s looking forward to, which causes Joyce to flirtatiously ask him,
You’ve been dreaming about bread sticks and lasagna?
Fortunately, that’s not the only thing Hopper was anticipating from the date. Cue a long-awaited Joyce and Hopper make-out session.
6Eleven Rescues Max
Max has proven to be one of the most compelling characters ofStranger Thingsin Season 4. The finale is no exception, asshe turns off the Kate Bush musicto let herself be captured by Vecna as part of their plan. What she doesn’t expect, however, is for Eleven to enter her mind and save her from the monster’s wrath.
As Max and Eleven reunite for the first time in Season 4, a puzzled Max grabs Eleven, asking:
Are you real? Did I make you?
This works as a beautiful reunion between the two characters. Many fans also pointed out the similarity between this line and Sadie Sink’s quote at the beginning of Taylor Swift’sAll Too Well: The Short Film.
5Eleven Tries To Reason With Vecna
Episode 7 revealed one of the biggest twists ofStranger Things: that Vecna is actually 001, a test subject who Eleven befriended and later fought at the Hawkins lab. The two finally reunite for real in Episode 9 when Eleven arrives to save Max. However, Vecna binds Eleven with tentacles and prepares to kill Max.
That is until Eleven tries one more strategy: talking to him.
Papa is dead. I know what he did to you. You were different, like me. And he hurt you. He made you into this. He is the monster, Henry, not you.
For a brief moment, it’s as if Eleven and Vecna are on common ground. That is until Vecna decides to continue his plan of revenge against Hawkins.
4Mike Loves Eleven
Although Will’s speech to Mike in Episode 8 doesn’t have the intended effect Will wanted, it does inspire Mike later in Episode 9. As Eleven struggles to fight Vecna, her real body spasms in the sensory deprivation tank. However, with Will’s encouragement,Mike has the words that are enough to re-motivate Eleven to fight.
Not only does Mike finally tell Eleven that he loves her and that he’s afraid of losing her, he passionately tells her:
I feel like my life started that day we found you in the woods.
This callback toStranger Things’first cliffhanger at the end of Season 1, Episode 1 brings Mike’s character arc for the season full circle. It’s also a beautiful reminder of where all these characters began when the show first premiered.
3Eddie Becomes A Hero
It’s ultimately not surprising that Eddie succumbs to a less-than-ideal fate at the end of Episode 9. From his introduction at the start of the season, the character seemed doomed: he had failed to graduate high school for several years, he’s wanted for murder after Chrissy is killed by Vecna, and he’s labeled a freak by Hawkins.
RELATED:Stranger Things: Most Terrifying Creatures
However, the person most in need of seeing Eddie’s redemption is Eddie himself. After facing the Demobats head-on, Eddie is held by Dustin as he slowly dies. But even death doesn’t stop him from remaining optimistic, as he says:
I’m actually gonna graduate. I think it’s my year, Henderson. I think it’s finally my year.
It’s a heartbreaking moment, as Eddie joins the ranks of fellow likable characters who die after one season, like Barb and Bob.
2Dustin Remembers Eddie
The epilogue of Episode 9 finds Hawkins forever changed by the destruction wrought by Vecna. However, the most emotional parts of the epilogue involvethe more intimate moments between characters. One of those moments finds Dustin informing Eddie’s uncle Wayne about the sacrifice Eddie made for a town that hated him.
With tears in his eyes, Dustin comforts Wayne by him attesting to the goodness of Eddie’s character:
I wish everyone had gotten to know him. Really know him. Because they would’ve loved him, Mr. Munson.
Hopefully, this won’t be the last interaction between Dustin and Mr. Munson on the show.
1Eleven Never Lost Hope
As if Episode 9 needed more heart-wrenching moments,Stranger Thingscomes through. To wrap upHopper’s emotional letter to Eleven at the end of Season 3, the father-and-adopted-daughter reunite, in Eleven’s old room of all places. A tearful Eleven embraces Hopper for the first time since the finale of Season 3.
Through sobs, Eleven makes the callback to end all callbacks:
I kept it open. I kept the door open three inches. I never stopped believing.
When thinking back to how Season 4 began, with Eleven facing ridicule from her classmates for how much she loved her father, one can’t help but smile at this heartwarming conclusion.
